[Big D]

Hi all,

Not a huge amount to report this time as I’ve been on an overseas holiday and then busy with a container load of goodies since we got back. Included in the container were some nice parts from Belgium and France (thanks to Jaap, Philippe and David) as per the pictures: 37mm ready rack, turret rear plate; some conduit, siren, NOS air cleaner; repro locker lids, oil pump, slave cylinder piston cups, and some other odds and ends.

I also managed to get hold of an air cleaner hose and headlight holder (thanks Roy) and acquired the correct driver seat (thanks Bill). With a bit of repair work the seat is now ready to fit. If nothing else, it has been a good time for collecting parts.

As far as the work on the turret goes, prior to doing some work on it, I did a wee exercise in tracking the bullet trajectories through the turret. After all the thought and discussion on whether to keep the bullet holes or not, I figured that I would keep those holes that told a story. As a result I have kept about 4-5 holes on each side of the turret where I could track the bullet through one side and then to, or through the other side. I figure that they will certainly be the basis of some discussion by observers. That was my logic anyway!

The few holes in the rear and front of the turret are now filled and the replacement pieces of turret skirt have been welded on. The skirt was going to be tricky for me as the replacement pieces I had were quite twisted so I got one of the guys in the engineering workshop to do this. It helps having the right equipment and expertise. The bearing faces that were damaged by bullets have been repaired and smoothed and the storage rack is being folded as we speak. I made up a steel block for one of the microphone hooks to go back into the turret. The other one had been cleaned out by a bullet. The replacement footman loops are also now in place. After that, we'll straighten the mounts for the gun ring and then it should be ready for a blast and a paint.